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Ashuelot Covered Bridge - New Hampshire

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New Hampshire has dozens of covered bridges that grace their presence throughout the Granite State. One such covered bridge is the Ashuelot Covered Bridge, which spans over the Ashuelot River in the Cheshire County community of Ashuelot. Built by master covered bridge builder Nicholas Powers in 1864 at a length of 169 feet, the bridge is designed in the Town lattice style of covered bridges developed by Ithiel Town in 1820 and was rehabilitated in 1999. The bridge was built of the Ashuelot Covered Bridge is considered by local historians to be one of New Hampshire's most elaborate covered bridges. The original purpose of the bridge was to transport wood across the river for use by the Ashuelot Railroad, as the railroad had a station in the upper village of Ashuelot. Eventually, the bridge was converted for use by motor vehicles. At times. this covered bridge has also been called the Village Bridge or Village Station Bridge.


The beauty of the Ashuelot Covered Bridge, as of other covered bridges, is that it is still carrying out its original purpose, to get people and goods from Point A to Point B. There are covered walkways on each end of the bridge, so pedestrians and the occasional vehicle (the bridge sees an average of 510 vehicles a day) don't have to intermingle. At times, special events take place on the bridge, such as an annual dinner event that takes place. But in the end, the covered bridge is about bridging together the community, both now and then.






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Sources and Links:
Ashuelot Bridge - New Hampshire Covered Bridges
Ashuelot Covered Bridge - Bridgehunter.com
New England: True Northeast; Covered Bridge; Ashuelot, N.H. - New York Times  (June 3, 2001)
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Location: Ashuelot Covered Bridge, 20 Hampshire Ct, Ashuelot, NH 03441, USA

Comments

Anonymous said…
The Ashuelot covered bridge was NOT built to carry wood across the river for the Ashuelot Railroad. There was plenty of wood on both sides of the railroad. It was built during the Civil War to bring raw materials to the Ashuelot Manufacturing Company that was located on the opposite side of the river and to bring the finished woolen cloths to the railroad. The legend of the "carrying wood" began in the early 1950s when someone speculated in a newspaper article. That legend refuses to die.
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